Hamilton's Ferrari simulator snub raises correlation concerns after Canada podium

Lewis Hamilton finished second at the Canadian Grand Prix after overtaking Max Verstappen in the closing laps, but the result has prompted as many questions about Ferrari’s simulator as it has celebrations about the seven-time champion’s form. Hamilton had deliberately skipped the team’s simulator programme ahead of the race, and the immediate improvement in his performance has not gone unnoticed.

Sky Sports Formula 1 lead commentator David Croft, speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, described the decision and its outcome as a red flag for Ferrari. “It is quite damning, I think, on the Ferrari simulator that he decides he’s not going to use it and then has his best weekend as a Ferrari driver,” Croft said. “So I would worry about the correlation issues if, as he said, the set-up that he’s given after going on the sim is often the wrong one.”

Hamilton, who joined the Scuderia at the start of the 2025 season, had spoken openly to media about his reasoning. “With simulations, I feel that the goalposts are always moving,” he said, before elaborating ahead of the Canadian race: “I just decided for this one, I was going to sit it out and focus more on the data. There was just a lot of deep diving on through-corner balance, mechanical balance, corner approaches, brake balance, optimising the brakes — which has been a problem for me for some time. That’s led to really good integration with my engineers.”

The results in Montreal appeared to vindicate that call. Hamilton ran closely behind Verstappen in the final laps and, as the Red Bull driver began losing tyre temperature, found his way past to secure second place — his strongest finish in Ferrari colours to date.

Croft was careful to acknowledge Hamilton’s execution on the day while maintaining his concern about what the episode reveals about the team’s infrastructure. “At least he’s got the courage of his convictions, as he often has, to try and find a way around it, and I thought he drove superbly in the race,” he said. “And when he had a sniff of getting at Max, Max was losing temperature in his tyres, he really went for it, and it was brilliant to see.”

Whether Hamilton continues to avoid the simulator for the remainder of the season remains an open question — and one that will likely keep Ferrari’s engineers under scrutiny for the races ahead.